Adeptus Arbites
he Adeptus Arbites are a division of the Adeptus Terra, devoted to enforcing Imperial law throughout the entire Imperium. ''Dark Millenium The Adeptus Arbites will likley be NPC in Dark Millenium. Although possibly a class. Should they be a class their primary weapon will obviously be the Shotgun (Ah, the deliciousness of 12 gauge Buckshot!) Jurisdiction The Adeptus Arbites enforce the ''Lex Imperialis, Imperial law, embodied within the great Book of Judgement. Their organisation represents the soldiers and police of the Adeptus Terra.2 Each of the Imperium's worlds have their own government, laws, and their own local police forces to enforce those laws. The Arbites concern themselves only with the enforcement of the Imperial law, the broader laws to which the entire Imperium is subject. Utterly dedicated and without mercy, the Arbites are feared throughout the galaxy, for they are the agents of a harsh law, where failure and incompetence are crimes, and the only punishment is death. Arbites are empowered to act as judge, jury and executioner - citizens have no rights, only members of the Priesthood of Terra or the Inquisition could claim anything so elaborate as a trial.1 Organisational Structure The overall leader of the Adeptus Arbites is the Grand Provost Marshal, who represents the organization on the Senatorum Imperialis. Below him are the Marshals of the Court which oversee galaxy-spanning precincts.2 Below the Marshals of the Court, the Arbites are internally divided into two subgroups; Judges, who deal with legal matters and the application of ten thousand years of case law and its precedents, and Arbitrators, the militant arm of the Arbites who perform the work necessary to apprehend and punish those who break the Emperor's laws. The Adeptus Arbites maintains a presence on almost every Imperial world, headquartered in fortified precinct courthouses. The courthouses are equipped to be self-sufficient and to support a complete Arbites army. They consist of armouries, dungeons, barracks, firing ranges, scriptories, archives, warehouses, kitchens, gymnasia and garages. Courthouses are sometimes a world's only connection with the rest of the Imperium.2, 3 Senior Arbites fulfill both roles, with Judges getting their hands dirty, and Arbitrators learning to preside over lengthy court trials. There are numerous ranks and roles within the Arbitrators: *Enforcer *'Verispex technicians': provide forensic evidence in a crime scene *'Chasteners': involves the interrogation of prisoners. *'Patrol groups': prowl the dangerous under-sections of city hives *'Shock troops' break up vicious queue wars which often develop outside government buildings *'Execution teams' hound the guilty through barren wastes and labyrinthine tunnels *'Snatch squads' apprehend targets for interrogation Other kinds of Arbitrators include cyber-warfare specialists who apprehend cyber-criminals through the computer matrices of the Administratum and specialist investigators known as Detectives 2. Personnel The men and women of the Adeptus Arbites are utterly devoted to their task and without mercy to those who break the Lex Imperialis. Arbites are usually recruited through the Schola Progenium, often those who have displayed great force of will and brute strength.[8] Equipment The Adeptus Arbites are equipped to fight a minor war, but their main role is maintaining order. A single precinct courthouse functions as a base for a complete and fully-equipped army, capable of fielding vehicles. In combat Arbitrators wear carapace armour. Heavy gloves and boots protect the hands and feet, while the head is encased within an all-enclosing helmet equipped with a rebreather. Standard personal weaponry is the Arbites combat shotgun, boltgun, grenade launcher, suppression shield and the power maul. Several types of grenades are used, both lethal and incapacitating. Some Patrol groups and Enforcers may use Cyber-Mastiffs to hunt down and to catch criminal fugitives who attempt to escape.4,5 The Arbites also make use of a wide range of vehicles, such as Rhinos6a, Repressors6b, and Chimeras.6c Notable Arbites *Godwyn Fischig *Shira Lucina Calpurnia Adeptus Arbites in Warhammer 40,000 The Adeptus Arbites are one of the original components of the Warhammer 40,000 universe (although undoubtedly inspired by Judge Dredd). In the Ordo Malleus/Grey Knights army list in Realm of Chaos: Slaves to Darkness Arbites squads could be used as an auxiliary force. In the basic Codex army lists included with second edition, taken as allies from the "Imperial Agents" army list, they could be used as part of Space Marine and Imperial Guard armies. In Third Edition the Adeptus Arbites had an official army list (Citadel Journal 29). In Fourth Edition they appear only in Witch Hunter armies, represented by Inquisition Storm Troopers using the option of replacing their Hellguns with shotguns.